Four moments that made this
The leap
Newly promoted to senior consultant in financial services technology, I became a corporate America dropout to work with students full time. I was a few years out of college, single, and had very little facial hair.
Students were the only people who would probably listen to what I had to say. They turned out to be the best teachers. Why, you ask? Because students tell the truth.
The question
I don't know why I did something different that night. I asked everyone to take out something to write with and answer one question: what do you fear? I told them I would burn the cards that night.
First, I sat on my couch and read them one by one as a few tears came down my face. They were raw, deep, and painfully honest. Not long after that, I stopped burning them. Every room since has known their cards come home with me, and I've kept every one.
The gray hairs
Somewhere around 35, I saw a few gray hairs start peeking through. Ten years of lessons, a full house of kids who probably caused a few of those hairs, and a cute wife.
That's when I started getting invited to speak to educators, not just their students. It turns out the fears weren't that different. That's when I made the shift to education professionals.
Fearless to fear(less)
Every so often someone would come up after a talk and ask, "Darryl, what about the other side of fear? Do you really want to be without it? What about the good side?" I'd nod and keep it moving.
Then 2020 hit, and I can admit I was a little scared. That's when it clicked. The goal was never to be fearless. It was to fear less and act anyway. The name stayed, but the meaning shifted.
